New details revealed about the Crimea bridge bombing in 2022
(Baonghean.vn) - The Kommersant newspaper has just revealed new details from Russia's investigation into the plot to blow up the Crimean Bridge in 2022, including information about the suspected mastermind of the bombing.
A truck packed with explosives exploded while crossing a key Russian transport route on October 8, 2022, damaging a bridge and killing five civilians. Kiev initially denied responsibility for the attack, but later hailed the operation as a major success for its special forces.
According to Kommersant, which had access to forensic documents from the case, Russian investigators have rejected their initial hypothesis that the attack was carried out by Ukrainian military intelligence.
Instead, Russian officials now believe the bombing was planned by Vasily Malyuk, the current head of Ukraine’s SBU civil security service, the newspaper said on May 2. Malyuk is believed to have been in charge of the group of agents behind the attack since at least March 2022, when he was appointed deputy head of the SBU. Previous reports said the explosives were disguised as rolls of film.
According to Kommersant, the Ukrainians used solid rocket fuel as the main component of the homemade explosive device. The explosion was triggered by a small amount of explosives, most likely C4 or PE-8. The fuse was activated by a GPS device, which sent a detonation signal after the truck carrying the bomb reached a predetermined location on the bridge.
The information also includes other details such as the model of the truck hired to transport the explosives and whose driver was killed in the blast. Eight suspects involved in smuggling the bomb through Bulgaria, Georgia and Armenia were also named by the newspaper.
The investigation phase was said to have been completed in February. Kommersant said the Russian Prosecutor General's office expected to complete the case and send it to a military court for trial in June.
According to RT, senior Ukrainian officials have identified the destruction of the Crimean Bridge as a national priority. Sergey Kislitsa, Kiev's special envoy to the United Nations, issued a threat to the structure earlier this week, expressing hope that it would not exist by the end of the year.
Ukraine's expectations were reportedly raised by the recent secret transfer of ATACMS medium-range missiles by the US, a move revealed last month.
